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FCC to Host SUMMIT ON Emergency Communications and Homeland Security -- Working with the Disability Community

Wednesday, March 24th 2004

March 22, 2004, Washington, D.C. On Thursday, March 25, the FCC will convene a Summit on Emergency Communications and Homeland Security -- Working With the Disability Community, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room at FCC headquarters, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20554. A detailed agenda is attached.

The Summit fulfills one of the action items identified on the FCCs Homeland Security Action Plan, announced by FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell on July 10, 2003. The event will convene disability organizations, service providers, government agencies and other stakeholders in order to discuss communications barriers faced by people with disabilities during national emergencies or terrorist attacks and develop strategies for resolving them where possible.

The event will feature separate sessions on: 1) the definition of emergency and how that affects the access by the disability community to thorough and reliable emergency information; 2) issues encountered in accessing emergency information over different communications platforms; 3) pending rulemaking proceedings, enforcement, and outreach activities of interest to the disability community; and 4) technological innovations that will improve access to telecommunications equipment by the disabled.

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AND HOMELAND SECURITY: WORKING WITH THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY SUMMIT

March 25, 2004
Commission Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

The purpose of this Summit is to convene disability organizations, service providers, government agencies and other stakeholders for the purpose of developing recommendations to the Commission concerning communications barriers faced by people with disabilities during emergencies and possible solutions to those barriers. The Summit will provide an opportunity for representatives of the disability community to discuss the communications barriers faced in emergency situations and an opportunity for the Commission and telecommunications industry representatives to discuss measures they can take in order to address those barriers.

This panel will highlight pending rulemaking proceedings of interest to the disability community. The panel will also cover enforcement and outreach measures and how they might be more responsive to the disability community.